Food additives

• Color retention agents

 In contrast to colorings, color retention agents are used to preserve a food's existing color.

• Emulsifiers

 Emulsifiers allow water and oils to remain mixed together in an emulsion, as in ice cream, and homogenized milk.

• Flavors

 Flavors are additives that give food a particular taste or smell, and may be derived from natural ingredients or created artificially.

• Flavor enhancers

 Flavor enhancers enhance a food's existing flavors. They may be extracted from natural sources (through distillation, solvent extraction, among other methods) or created artificially.

• Flour treatment agents

 Flour treatment agents are added to flour to improve its color or its use in baking.

• Humectants

 Humectants prevent foods from drying out.

• Tracer gas

 Tracer gas allows for package integrity testing to prevent foods from being exposed to atmosphere, thus guaranteeing shelf life.

• Preservatives

 Preservatives prevent or inhibit spoilage of food due to fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms.

• Stabilizers

 Stabilizers, thickeners and gelling agents, like agar or pectin (used in jam for example) give foods a firmer texture. While they are not true emulsifiers, they help to stabilize emulsions.

• Sweeteners

 Sweeteners are added to foods for flavoring. Sweeteners other than sugar are added to keep the food energy (calories) low, or because they have beneficial effects for diabetes mellitus.

• Thickeners

 Thickeners are substances which, when added to the mixture, increase its viscosity without substantially modifying its other properties